Starting a streak of five straight road games on the right foot, the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team is looking to avenge losses from the 2012-13 season this weekend when the Golden Knights travel to take on Union College and Rensselaer in a pair of important early-season Liberty League games.
The Golden Knights, 7-4 overall and 1-1 in the Liberty League, were narrowly swept by both Union and Rensselaer in four games, never losing by more than six points in any of the contests. The losses to both teams last year pushed Clarkson outside of the Liberty League playoffs via the tiebreaking system, and the Green and Gold certainly don't want to succumb to the same fate in 2014.
Both Union and Rensselaer lost key players from the Liberty League playoff teams in 2012-13, but each has still started the conference schedule off in the right direction. The Dutchmen, Friday's opponent, are 4-6 overall and 1-1 in the Liberty League, and are a capable offensive team, ranking second in the conference in scoring at 79.8 points per game. However, the Dutchmen also allow the second-most points per game (81.8). Kevin Weckworth averages 11.4 points per game to lead Union, and Keith Callies has added in 10.0 points per contest. The Dutchmen hold a 36-25 edge in the all-time series against Clarkson, and have won three straight.
Rensselaer is one of the highest scoring teams in the nation at 92.9 points per game, but the team is second to last in all of Division III in points allowed per game (96.2), trailing only Grinnell's high-octane offense that scores 131 per game. The Engineers run a similar style to Grinnell, forcing 25.3 turnovers per game (third in the country) and taking 380 3-pointers (fourth in the country) as a team. With the quick paced game, no player on RPI's roster has gaudy scoring figures as Reggie Colas leads the team with 11.2 points per game. The Engineers have won 70 times against the Knights, while Clarkson has claimed 30 victories.
Junior John Coleman (Potsdam, NY) ranks fifth in the conference in scoring at 18.5 points per game, and has performed well against Rensselaer over the years, averaging the same 18.5 points per game, as well as 8.5 rebounds per contest. Against Union, he hasn't been as fortunate, scoring just 11 points per game with 7.5 rebounds. Marques Charlton (Deer Park, NY) is seventh in the conference in scoring at 17.5 points per game and is shooting 50.8% from beyond the 3-point arc. Charlton has also had success in the last two years against both teams, posting six double-digit scoring games. Junior Dylan Hodownes (Honeoye Falls, NY) had the best game of his career against Rensselaer in 2011-12, scoring 18 points in just 16 minutes on 6-for-7 shooting, including five 3-pointers.
